The Adventures of KC and Eli
by ThatCoolKidSpardel
Summary: Just what I think would happen if K.C. and Eli ever met... : it only seems fitting that they'd meet in detention. enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

"Shit." K.C. cursed to himself as Principal Simpson handed him the detention slip. How he got caught throwing footballs in the hallway and Drew didn't was beyond him.

Drew just laughed his ass off and walked away with his arm around that freshman girl Jess.

Not that that bothered K.C., he was with Jenna again. _Jenna…_

She really was gonna have the baby, which meant he would be a dad….

_Don't think about that. You love Jenna and that's all that matters. _K.C. thought to himself as he walked down the hall to the classroom where he'd be serving detention.

He really did love Jenna; she was the best relationship he'd ever been in. Better than any of the girls before he came to Degrassi, and better than Clare.

K.C. felt a pang of guilt every time he thought of Clare. He knew it was wrong to let Jenna steal him away so easily, but he couldn't help himself. He wondered if Clare still thought about him; he really hadn't seen or talked to her that much this year.

He turned the last corner before the classroom and there she was.

Her uniform looked very flattering on her, and her curly red hair had a butterfly clip in it. Clare always dressed so modestly, but he couldn't deny that she was very pretty.

Her electric blue eyes were stunning without her glasses, and the way she looked in the sunlight was…

_Stop it. You're with Jenna now. _K.C. thought to himself as he proceeded toward Clare. Then a weird thought came to him.

"Clare, do you have detention?" He asked before he could stop himself.

She looked in his direction and blushed a little when she saw him. He was her ex, so of course she would feel a little weird talking to him.

"Oh, um…no. I was just talking to someone."

K.C. nodded awkwardly and walked toward the classroom that Clare was standing in the doorway of.

"Well, see you." She said to him as she began to walk away. She turned to look back into the classroom and she smiled sweetly and waved at someone, but K.C. couldn't see who.

He walked into the room and sat down in an empty desk near the back.

There were only three other kids in the room besides him.

Heather Poulette, who he couldn't imagine getting a detention since she was such a smart goody two shoes, some freshman that he didn't recognize, and a junior that looked vaguely familiar.

As he suspected, Heather didn't really have detention, she was there to help the teacher sort out papers. Typical goody two shoes.

She left after a little bit and then the freshman started complaining that he was sick, so the teacher grudgingly agreed to take him to the nurse's office.

"You two stay here. I need to drop him off and then go copy some papers, but I'll be back in fifteen minutes and you two better still be here." She said, and exited the room.

K.C. just nodded and then let out a long sigh. He turned to look at the only other kid still in the room, the junior.

The junior caught his glance and gave him a lopsided smirk, then looked back down at his binder.

K.C. felt awkward just sitting there in silence so he looked for something to make conversation. He noticed the junior's bag on the floor had a pin about this huge multi-band tour from about two years ago, that it was nearly impossible to buy tickets for.

"Wow, how'd you manage to score that concert?" K.C. asked.

The junior looked up at him, a little shocked that he was proposing conversation, but answered all the same.

"Well my dad is a DJ on the radio so he was able to pull some strings."

"Really? Cool. Have I heard of him?"

"He goes by Bullfrog."

"Bullfrog? No way! That's sweet bro." K.C. said animatedly. Why hadn't he talked with this guy before?

"Yeah…so, what are you in for?" The boy asked K.C.

"Oh, I was playing football in the hallway. You know how it is." K.C. said.

The boy smirked. "Not really. Sports aren't really my thing."

"Oh." K.C. said, bummed that they didn't have that in common. "Well what are you in for?"

"Dress code violations." He muttered. "Honestly, this stupid uniform conspiracy violates my freedom of expression."

"Eh, it's not so bad." K.C. reasoned.

The boy cracked another smirk. "It is when you dress as uniquely as I do. You could say my style's a little different. My English teacher referred to it as 'mortician'" He put air quotes around the word and rolled his eyes.

That's when K.C. recognized him.

"Oh! You're the guy who got in that fight with Fitz! Eli, right?" K.C. said, remembering all the drama at Vegas Night.

The boy just smirked and nodded. "That's me. The emo boy who almost got stabbed." He said sarcastically.

K.C chuckled a little. "That guy was crazy bro."

"Yup. Honestly, I wish I hadn't gone to Vegas Night at all." Eli said.

"Me too. I mean, obviously my night wasn't as bad as yours, but it wasn't fun for me. I was having issues with my girlfriend at the time so it was just weird."

Eli nodded knowingly. "Yeah, my girlfriend and I were having some issues that night too."

"They couldn't have been as crazy as what I was dealing with. My girlfriend, Jenna, is pregnant." K.C. said, sighing. "It sucks."

Eli whistled lowly. "That's heavy stuff."

K.C nodded. "Tell me about it. I hope you and your girlfriend use condoms every time." K.C said, laughing a little.

Eli smirked. "Wouldn't have to worry about it."

"Dude, trust me, even if she's on the pill-…"

"I mean we don't have sex."

"Oh. Really?" K.C. asked, somewhat bewildered that a junior that wasn't really bad-looking wasn't getting any.

"Yeah. She took a vow of abstinence and well, I don't wanna push her."

"Sounds like my ex girlfriend." K.C said, rolling his eyes. "Honestly, she's such a prude it's ridiculous. I wonder if she's still like that." K.C wondered out loud.

"Who is your ex?" Eli asked curiously.

K.C shook his head. "Clare Edwards. She's in my grade, you probably don't know her."

Eli's eyes turned stone cold.

"No, I know her. She's in my English class." Was all Eli replied. But K.C. could've sworn he'd felt a change in the atmosphere, like Eli was pissed off at him.

"What do you think of her?" K.C. asked.

Eli looked him dead in the eyes. "I think you're an idiot for breaking up with her." He said bluntly.

K.C. just stared at him, astonished. "Really? But dude…"

"But what? Clare's kind, smart, and beautiful. She has a good head on her shoulders and doesn't let anything influence her. And so what if she doesn't have sex? Having sex isn't always a good thing as you now know, and it's definitely not something you base your relationship off of." Eli said, never breaking eye contact.

His abrupt statement and total confidence made K.C a little uneasy. How did he know Clare so well, and why was he so adamantly defending her? Unless…

"She's your girlfriend, isn't she?" K.C. asked.

Eli just nodded.

_That would explain what she was doing standing outside the classroom. _K.C. thought to himself.

"I'm sorry dude. I didn't mean to insult her or anything. She's a… great girl." K.C. said, trying to make things right.

"Oh I know." Eli said, smirking.

K.C. could tell he was still irritated and kept talking. "Seriously though. You're right, she's pretty, smart, and nice. You're a lucky guy."

"Trust me, I know." Eli said seriously. "So why did you break up with her? Not that I wish you hadn't, I mean your mistake saved my life." He said.

This caught K.C. off-guard. Saved his life? He was really serious about Clare, wasn't he?

"Well, I don't know if it was a mistake. I mean, I love Jenna. Maybe I was wrong to leave Clare so easily for her but... what's done is done. And anyway, Clare has you now, so it's really no harm."

Eli nodded.

"I'm sure you guys are a great couple."

"That's what people say." Eli said, smirking and rolling his eyes. He did that A LOT K.C noticed.

K.C. just smiled. He couldn't quite tell how he felt about Clare having a new boyfriend, but he supposed that was just natural.

"Okay, you guys can go now." The teacher said to Eli and K.C.

The boys got up and exited the room to find Clare waiting outside.

"Hi." She walked up to Eli and took his hands in hers. K.C. felt a pang of jealously flash through him as Clare kissed Eli softly on the lips.

"Well…it was nice talking to you K.C." Eli said, smirking as he slung his arm around Clare's shoulder, somewhat possessively. K.C cracked a smirk of his own.

"Yeah uh…same to you. See ya." He said, and then waved awkwardly at Clare. Clare awkwardly smiled back and then looked at Eli, slightly confused.

"Don't worry." Eli said, cupping Clare's face in his hands. "We said nothing but good things about you."

Clare blushed and whispered questions to Eli as they walked away down the hall, hand in hand.

K.C. shook his head to clear it and then walked in the other direction.

Clare had found a really good guy, and he should be glad, he told himself.

But damn it, he couldn't keep himself from wondering…

Oh well, he had Jenna now. And Clare seemed happier with Eli then she had ever been with him.

_They really are a cute couple. _K.C. thought, and then pushed the two out of his mind and went home.


	2. Author's Note

You know, this was actually gonna just be a oneshot…but since all you guys want more chapters I guess I'll write some haha:) Ohh and should I include any eclare or kenna or only focus on KC and Eli? Up to you!


	3. Chapter 2

"K.C put your plate in the sink." His mother said as he was getting up to leave the dinner table.

"Sorry mom." K.C said. Maybe his mom nagged him a little, but he was still thankful that she was back and clean.

"So…" His mother began. K.C finished clearing his dishes and then turned to look at her.

"Yeah?" He asked.

"So you and Jenna are back together now." She continued.

K.C looked down at his hands. "Yeah we are. Mom, I know what you're gonna say-.." He began but his mother cut him off.

"Then what am I going to say?" She asked. He sighed.

"You were gonna say that this means I'm accepting the responsibility of being a dad, and I know that."

His mother nodded. "Yup, and I also wanted to say that it's gonna be just as hard on Jenna as it is you if not harder, so don't get upset with her when things get tough."

"I know mom, I learned my lesson. I won't leave Jenna again."

His mom smiled. "Good. I'm proud of you baby boy." She pulled her son into a hug and K.C grinned.

"Thanks mom."

"I need to run out to the store, you be good!" She said, and K.C waved goodbye.

Once she was gone he went to his bedroom and slumped onto his computer chair.

_I'm gonna be a dad. _He thought.

He was scared as fuck. He wanted to be a good dad, and he wanted to help Jenna, but he didn't want it to take over his life. He knew it would though, and he hated the feeling that gave him. After all, he was just a teenager.

_This is all my fucking fault. _

In his midst of rage he made that his facebook status, and then collapsed onto his bed, suddenly tired.

It was a few minutes later that he heard his phone beep.

He expected it to be Jenna, or maybe Drew, but he was shocked when he saw that he'd received a text message from Clare.

"Hey…you okay? I saw what you posted on facebook."

Clare was always so considerate, even after all K.C had done to her. He replied, grateful that she cared even though it was a little awkward talking to your ex girlfriend.

"Yeah…I'm just worried about the baby." He typed.

Clare responded a few minutes later.

"I bet you are. But you're doing the right thing to stick with Jenna."

"I know", K.C texted back.

Clare didn't respond and he began to feel lonely. He made a split decision and called her.

"Hello?" She answered, slightly confused.

"Hey Clare. Look, I need to tell you something."

"Um…okay, what?"

K.C took a deep breath. "It was wrong of me to break up with you for Jenna. I feel really bad about it. I mean, I love Jenna and I want to be with her, but it was still wrong what I did. I just wanted to apologize."

It was a few moments before Clare finally responded.

"Apology accepted K.C." She whispered. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Oh and uh…Eli's a good guy." K.C stated kind of awkwardly.

Clare giggled. "I know. And I'm not sure, but I don't think he dislikes you either." She said.

K.C smirked at this. "Yeah well…I've gotta go finish some homework. See you around."

"See you K.C."

They hung up.

Clare put her phone down, slightly shocked that K.C had called her. And _apologized _of all things. That really wasn't like him at all.

Even so, Clare was happy he called. She signed onto twitter to check her DMs. There was one waiting from Jenna.

Jenna and Clare had started to become friends again, and Clare was thankful for that.

The day she'd invited Alli over to get ready for the dance she'd invited Jenna too because she didn't want to appear rude.

Jenna accepted her invitation and then pulled her aside.

"Listen Clare, thank you for inviting me. After stealing your boyfriend I in no way expected you to even wanna be around me."

"It's okay Jenna. I mean, that's past. And I have…someone else now." Clare had replied.

"Still. I'm sorry for all the crap I've caused you. I really am Clare Bear." She patted Clare on the arm and smiled.

Jenna could be so emotional that it was just too hard to watch her be contrite. Clare forgave her.

They'd talked a little since then, Jenna had confided in Clare about worries about the baby.

Clare had comforted her and said she would be available to help, and that her church had a nursery that Jenna could probably leave the baby at while she was in school.

Jenna really wasn't all that bad deep down, and Clare was glad they were friends again.

"Hey Clare Bear, what's up?" Was Jenna's DM.

"Nothing interesting lol. You?" She replied.

"Oh c'mon, with that boy friend of yours something interesting must be going on. ;)" Jenna said, and Clare could almost hear her mischievous tone in the message. Jenna loved to talk about boys.

"Well actually, Eli had a chat with K.C today." Clare replied, remembering what Eli had told her about how they met in detention. It was actually rather surprising to Clare that they'd gotten along so well; it amused her.

"Really? :O Was it a friendly chat or…" Jenna trailed off.

"It was friendly lol. They met in detention today and Eli told me that they actually sort of hit it off." Clare replied.

"Huh… hmm ;)" Was all Jenna said in response.

"Yes?" Clare asked, curious.

"Let's double date! :D"


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey sorry it took me so long to post this! Hope you enjoy**

"I still don't know about this." Eli muttered as him and Clare got out of his hearse and walked toward the little café Jenna had told them to meet her and K.C. at.

"C'mon, you said you guys hit it off." Clare coaxed; she wanted Eli to be in a good mood for their double date.

"I said I found him tolerable, I didn't say we hit it off." Eli countered.

"Whatever. Just please be nice?"

Eli looked as if he was about to agree and then he made a face. "Why do you even want to do this anyway?"

"Well…Jenna's my friend Eli, and she hasn't done anything fun in a while, so-…"

"How is she your friend? She stole your ex boy friend." Eli interrupted.

"That was a while ago…I forgave her."

Eli looked bewildered. "I can't believe that you do things like that, forgive people that wrong you in such ways."

Clare shrugged and grinned. "It's just how I am. Would you love me if I was any different?" She asked, taking Eli's hands in hers.

He smirked and kissed her softly on the lips as a response.

"Besides, I have you now." She murmured, her lips still only inches from his.

"That you do. And don't worry, Jenna or any girl for that matter won't ever steal me." He vowed.

Clare rolled her eyes. "Please let up on her. She has a lot to deal with and I told you I forgave her."

"Okay, okay. I just can't get over how awkward this is going to be."

"It'll only be awkward if you make it awkward." Clare said firmly, letting Eli know that there was no way he could get out of this.

He sighed and they walked into the café together.

"Clare Bear!" Jenna squealed when she saw them. She ran up and wrapped Clare into a big hug.

"Hey Jenna." Clare said, trying to sound happy. Even if they were friends again, Jenna was still a little too touchy-feely-squealy for her taste. And she HATED that nickname.

Jenna led them over to a booth near the back of the restaurant and took her seat next to K.C.. Clare sat down across from K.C. and Eli suavely slid in after her.

"Hey guys." K.C. said, smiling a little at his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend.

"Hi." Clare said politely. Eli cracked one of his lopsided half smiles.

A waitress came by and took orders for drinks. Clare got iced tea and Eli got black coffee.

Jenna was about to order when K.C. order coca cola's for both of them.

Clare raised her eyebrows slightly and Eli smirked.

"I know that's your favorite." K.C. said, smiling at his girlfriend.

"Uh Actually I'm more of a root beer person." Jenna said, grinning awkwardly.

K.C. smacked himself on the forehead. "Damn! Why do I always forget?"

They both laughed then and Clare joined in, even though she didn't think it was funny.

Eli looked at K.C. and shook his head, smirking.

"What?" K.C. asked.

Eli opened his mouth but Clare kicked him under the table before he could say anything.

He shot her a glare and then smiled back at K.C. "Nothing. Nothing at all."

_Honestly, that is such poor taste ordering for your date. _Eli thought to himself.

The conversation moved on however and things didn't get awkward again until Jenna announced she needed to used the restroom and asked Clare to come with her. The girls got up and left and K.C. looked at Eli and laughed.

"Why do girls always go to the bathroom in a group?" He asked and Eli chuckled as well.

"One of the many mysteries that us men will never solve." He replied.

"Hey, thanks for coming tonight, Jenna really wanted to double date. She likes being around a lot of people, you know?"

Eli nodded. "Yeah, I figured. She must love attention after going on that show." He said chuckling, then quickly added. "Not that I'm saying she's an attention seeker, just a people person." He clarified. _He_ wasn't going to insult the other's girlfriend, like how K.C. had done in detention.

K.C. nodded. "Yeah I know what you mean. Although she's getting a lot of unwanted attention now." He said, his face falling a little.

Eli nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, I bet that must suck. It's good of you to stand by her."

"Thanks." K.C. said, grinning a little. "I love Jenna, I really do. But our relationship is just so damn complicated!"

Eli nodded but didn't say anything so K.C. continued. "Clare doesn't seem very complicated to me, so I guess you guys don't have that problem. What about your ex-girlfriends though, I mean you now how dramatic girls can be." K.C. said, attempting to get Eli to relate to his complicated relationship issues.

"Ex-girlfriends?" Eli repeated K.C. quietly. K.C. nodded. "Yeah. I mean, Clare isn't your first girlfriend is she?"

"No, she's not." Eli replied.

K.C. looked at Eli, expecting him to say more, but Eli stayed silent, he didn't like this topic at all.

Luckily the girls came back from the bathroom though and the conversation came to an abrupt end.

It was mainly just small talk from there on out as they ate their food.

K.C. and Eli asked for the bill at the same time, and then both agreed to split it.

"We have such gentlemen." Jenna said, winking at Clare and grinning.

Clare smiled at Jenna and then looked at Eli. "We sure do."

"Aww, you flatter us too much." K.C. said, looking at Jenna and then letting his eyes drift over to Clare. She looked very pretty tonight…

Clare smiled at him but then looked away somewhat uncomfortably.

K.C. cleared his throat only deepening the awkward silence.

"Well this was a lot of fun!" Jenna said, beaming from ear to ear. "We should definitely hang out again soon!"

Clare nodded, she liked being reunited with her old friends. Eli just smirked.

Jenna had to go to the bathroom again, but said Clare didn't need to come with her this time. Eli got up to go get some take out boxes, and Clare and K.C. were left alone at the table.

"Tonight was fun." K.C. said, and Clare grinned.

"Yup. I missed you." She said before she could stop herself.

"I mean, hanging out with you and Jenna and stuff." She quickly added on. K.C. nodded. "I know what you mean. And I'm sorry we've drifted apart too. I'm really glad we're becoming friends again."

"Me too." Clare agreed, smiling.

Eli and Jenna returned and the group went out to the parking lot, saying goodbye to each other when they came to Eli's hearse.

"Nice seeing you guys." Eli said politely, actually smiling at K.C. and Jenna. They really weren't too bad, and it was less awkward than Eli had expected.

"Same to you. See ya." K.C. said, nodding at Clare and Eli. Jenna smiled and waved, and they walked away hand in hand.

As they were walking, K.C. tried desperately to focus on the girl next to him, but his mind kept drifting back to Clare, who was getting into the car with a boy that K.C. had to admit he liked. But he envied Eli, that was for sure.

And it scared him.


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: Thanks for the great reviews guys! It's about to get real…haha remember when that was it said in all the promos? Lol ANYWAY, R&R and enjoy!**

"Boo!"

K.C. jumped and turned around to see his girlfriend Jenna standing behind him with a huge grin on her face.

"Did I scare you?" She asked, beaming playfully.

"For sure." K.C. said and cracked a smile. It really had startled him, he hadn't been able to sleep that well last night and he was really tired…

"Wasn't our double date just amazing?" Jenna said, slinging her arm through K.C.'s.

"Yup." K.C. said, and Jenna kept on talking but his mind was elsewhere.

They date had been nice, he was glad that he Jenna and Clare were getting along again. And Eli didn't seem like a bad guy. But…the bubbly feeling he felt in his stomach when he looked at or talked to Clare was a little nerve-wrecking.

He hadn't thought about Clare in forever….Well okay, he had. But it hadn't hit him this hard before.

Clare really was a great girl, and he found himself questioning his decision to leave her for Jenna more and more.

_Snap out of it. _K.C. commanded himself. Jenna was having a baby. HIS baby. He needed to be there for her, and Clare had a boyfriend.

"K.C.? Hey, so what do you think?"

"Huh?" K.C. said, turning to look at Jenna who scowled slightly when she realized he hadn't been paying attention.

" I _said _Chantay is having a party tonight and we've been invited. So do you wanna go?"

"Uh…sure, I guess." K.C. would really rather just hang out with his friends, but he knew Jenna wanted to go so he agreed.

"Awesome!"

"Are Clare and Eli going?" K.C. asked, and then realized it was a stupid question. They weren't exactly the types that got invited to parties, unless they were the ones throwing them like the secret woods party.

"No, I don't think so." Jenna replied, now more focused on her reflection in a window.

"Should we invite them?"

"Well…I mean, I don't wanna be rude to Chantay…" Jenna continued, slightly nervously.

"I doubt she'd care." K.C. said, even though he didn't exactly care either way either. But Jenna read a little too much into his statement.

"Why do you want Clare there so bad, huh?" She asked, turning to face him with her hands on her hips.

"What? No, Jenna that's not wh-…"

"I saw the way you looked at her last night. Do you like her again?" Jenna accused him, sadness and anger in her eyes.

"No Jenna of course not! You misunderstood-…"

"Maybe I did misunderstand when you said you wanted me back! Do you really want me back K.C.? Because if you do,-…"

"Jenna! Yes, I wanna be with you, not Clare. Damn it Jenna, you were the ones that wanted to go on a double date with them not me, so stop trying to make me look like a bad guy." K.C. huffed.

"Oh K.C. I'm sorry!" Jenna exclaimed, and hid her face in her hands.

"I'm so stupid! Jumping to conclusions all the time, I'm awful!" Jenna wailed and K.C. pulled her into a hug.

"No you're not. I'm sorry I snapped." He said, even though he really had every right to.

"It's just…hormonal imbalances I guess." Jenna replied, laughing nervously.

K.C. laughed a little too.

"Well, I have to go talk to coach before my first class. See you soon?"

"Kay!" Jenna said, happy again, and she kissed K.C. quickly on the lips before they walked away in opposite directions.

Jenna walked down the hallway towards her first class, the cheery grin she usually wore back on her face.

She saw Eli by his locker and patted him on the back as she walked by.

"Hey!" She said cheerily.

Eli looked up from entering his combination and looked at her, a little startled, but he grinned. "Hi." He answered politely, then went back to fidgeting with his locker.

"Having trouble?" She asked.

"Uh…a little. I probably just got something stuck in it." Eli said, getting aggravated as he jerked at the handle to open his locker.

"Let me give it a try!" Jenna said, and before Eli could say anything in return she gave the handle a firm upward tug and it opened.

Eli's eyes widened.

"You need to have strength to be a cheerleader!" Jenna said. "And well, I've kinda been lifting an eight pound weight non-stop." She said, looking down at her stomach. "So I'm strong." She laughed and Eli awkwardly joined in, although he didn't find cheerleading and teenage pregnancy related jokes amusing.

He reached to get a notebook from his locker and a few things fell onto the ground.

Jenna reached down and picked them up, giving Eli a funny look.

"A science quiz from last year?" She said giggling. "You still need this?"

Eli didn't answer he just took at from her and put it back on his locker than closed it in a hurry.

"Thanks for helping me open my locker." He said, giving Jenna a small grin and turning to leave.

"Wait, you don't have to be embarrassed! I'm a packrat too!" Jenna said, giggling a little

Eli let out a laugh that Jenna thought sounded forced and a little uneasy but she ignored it.

"So where's your next class?" Jenna called, following him.

"Uh…down this hallway here. I have English with Ms. Dawes."

"Cool! Clare told me that's where you guys met!"

Eli smirked. "Yup." He replied.

They got to the classroom and Jenna smiled cheerily at Eli. "See you!" She said, patting him affectionately on the shoulder like they were close friends. Eli attempted a smirk and then walked into the classroom, shaking his head a little.

"Hey." He said, smiling as he sat down behind Clare.

"Hi. It's, um, cool that you and Jenna are hitting it off!" She replied, grinning and giggling a little too much.

"Clare, she came up to me and just started talking, I didn't go to her. And don't worry, even if she flirts with me more than she just did I wouldn't reciprocate. Ever. You know me Clare." He said seriously, looking Clare in the eyes.

"She flirted with you just now?" Clare asked, a little uncomfortable.

Eli rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I think you could say that."

"Huh." Clare muttered, and turned back around.

"Well c'mon Clare, you didn't really expect that she'd changed did you?" Eli said.

Clare didn't say anything and Eli said. This whole being buddy-buddy with K.C. and Jenna thing wasn't going too good.


	6. Sneak Peak!

**A/N: Hey guys, I don't have enough time to write a full blown chapter right now but I thought you might like to see a little showdown between Eli and K.C.! This is an excerpt of one of the chapters that will be coming up in a little bit. Enjoy!**

"It's not my fault K.C.!" Eli shouted, getting aggravated.

"Yes it is! You already have one of the girls I like, why are you trying to take the other?"

"I'm not for the billionth time! I love Clare; I don't want Jenna. _She_ flirts with _me_!"

"Why?" K.C. yelled, not really expecting an answer.

"You know why K.C."

He narrowed his eyes at Eli. "Why?"

Eli shook his head and turned away. "Forget it!"

"Tell me!"

"K.C.-…"

"COME ON!"

"Because she's a WHORE!" Eli hollered angrily at K.C. and both boys jumped a little at the sound of Eli's voice.

"She's a SLUT K.C. I'm sorry but it's true. You made the wrong choice when you left Clare for her."

"So just rub it in my face!" K.C. yelled.

Eli shook his head. "I didn't mean it like that, I'm just sick of you accusing me of flirting with your girlfriend when she's the problem!"

"What do you mean you didn't mean it like that? Of course you meant it like that! Your and Clare's relationship is fucking PERFECT! You've never had to deal with the kinda shit I've had to deal with."

Eli glared. "Look, you're not the only one whose had tough shit happen to them K.C."

"Oh, what's happened to you then? I bet you never got a girl pregnant! I bet you never made so many mistakes in a relationship that you hated yourself for it! Honestly, you have a great girlfriend, great friends, and you're parents are awesome and always there for you! My parents did drugs."

"I know K.C. and I'm sorry. Look, just calm down." Eli said, holding up his hands, he didn't want the fight to get too out of hand.

"Don't tell me to calm down emo boy!" K.C. yelled and Eli looked taken aback.

"You don't know what it's like to have to keep an eye on your girlfriend because at any second she could go flirt with another guy. You don't know what it's like to never know if your mom's coming home or not. Don't you get it? You don't know how fucked up my life is!"

"K.C. you can't just imply that I don't have any problems." Eli said sternly.

"But you don't! My mom was a druggie, I lost Clare to you, I could lose Jenna at any moment, and I lost my own father to prison. You don't know what that's like. You've never lost anybody!" K.C. screamed in his heated rage.

To his astonishment, Eli didn't immediately snap back, instead a spasm of pain shot through his face and he looked like he could barely breathe.

"I've never lost anybody?" He repeated K.C. finally, his voice shaking. "Yeah okay, well, you can burn in hell." He whispered; he was losing the ability to speak. He immediately left K.C's apartment without saying another word.


	7. Chapter 5

Clare fidgeted in her seat.

Jenna wasn't really at it again, was she?

_I mean, lets be real _she thought, _she's having a baby with K.C…. she wouldn't make a move on Eli._

Would she? Maybe Eli was right, maybe she was wrong to forgive and trust-

"Jenna!" Clare exclaimed and faked a smile as Jenna came bounding up to her.

"Hey Clare Bear!" She responded cheerily and sat down at the lunch table across from Clare.

It was eating away at her, so Clare took a deep breath and decided to tell Jenna what Eli had told her.

"Jenna…Eli said you guys talked in the hallway today."

"Yup! He's a nice guy!" Jenna chirped, oblivious to as where Clare was taking the conversation.

"He said that you, you know…kinda like…flirted with him." Clare said, trailing off awkwardly and watching Jenna's facial expression change.

"What?" Jenna exclaimed, an angry look now on her flushed face.

"Clare Bear I was not! Trust me, I learned my lesson with K.C., I wouldn't do that to you again! You said you forgave me and everything and you trust me and…you believe me don't you Clare Bear?" Jenna asked, her anger morphing into sadness.

"Jenna I wasn't trying to-…" Clare noticed that Jenna had looked toward the entrance to the cafeteria, where Eli was just now entering.

"You!" Jenna yelled, and marched over to a startled Eli.

"What is the matter with you? I simply tried to have a nice conversation with someone who I THOUGHT was my friend, and you tell your girlfriend I was flirting with you? What the hell!" Jenna yelled at him bitterly and then walked back over to Clare.

Eli followed, looking rather dumbfounded.

"Uh…" Was all he could manage to say.

Jenna sat down next to Clare and linked her arm through hers, glaring angrily at Eli.

"Clare is my friend and I wouldn't do that!"

Eli smirked darkly. "Oh really? Cause you already did once. Who's to say you won't try anything again?" Jenna gaped at him and Clare decided it was time to intervene.

"Eli!" She said, standing up and walking over to him. "Don't be rude! Jenna was just being friendly, you jumped to conclusions when you thought she was flirting."

Eli rolled his eyes. "Okay, sure."

"He's lying Clare Bear!" Jenna wailed from back in her seat.

Clare went back over and wrapped her arms around her friend.

"I think you'd better go Eli." She said pointedly.

Eli rolled his eyes again and glared at both girls. "Fine, you know what? I don't need this shit anyway."

He turned on his heal and exited the cafeteria.

It was then that Jenna and Clare heard a new voice from behind them.

"Hey guys…what's wrong?"

They turned to see K.C. looking at them worriedly.

Jenna wailed again and K.C. rushed over to her and hugged her close.

"What happened?" He asked, this time directing his question at Clare since Jenna was crying into his shirt.

"Well, she and Eli were talking in the hallway and Eli mistook Jenna's conversation making as flirting." Clare explained.

"I wasn't flirting K.C., I promise! You know you're the only one I want to be with!"

"It's okay baby, I believe you." K.C. murmured to Jenna. He then turned to Clare.

"Well you can tell Eli that he needs to stop bothering MY girlfriend. If he makes her cry like this again I'll go Fitz on him." K.C. stated coldly.

Clare's eyes widened. "Look K.C., it was just a misunderstanding-…"

"He made her cry!"

"Because he thought she was trying to hurt me! If you thought I was trying to steal you away from Jenna, wouldn't you be a little upset with me?" She asked, crossing her arms.

This question, to his astonishment, made K.C. blush, and he remembered his feelings that he'd been having for Clare.

"Uh…yeah, I guess."

"Good. So, let's put this behind us shall we?" Clare asked, she was always so formal and ready to resolve conflicts. K.C. admired that….

"Yeah okay. Jenna?" He said looking down at her.

She'd calmed down a little and sat back up.

"Yeah. It's fine. It was only a misunderstanding."

The three sat there for a moment before Anya came up to them and tapped Jenna on the shoulder.

"Hey…you still up for cheer practice?" She asked, she didn't know if Jenna would still be on the team due to her condition.

Jenna nodded. "Yeah. I mean, there are still a few things I can do. And I should be there for the team."

Anya smiled and Jenna kissed K.C. goodbye, waved to Clare, and walked out of the cafeteria with her power squad friend.

K.C. turned to Clare and grinned a little awkwardly. She put her hands on her hips and shook her head.

"What? He asked.

"I'll go all Fitz on him?" She mimicked, disapproving. "Honestly, I will never understand the male brain. All you guys do is fight, fight, fight."

"Hey, in my defense, I was trying to protect my girlfriend." K.C. defended himself.

"Yeah, yeah, that's what Eli always says too. As annoying as it is maybe the fact that you guys are so eager to stand up and fight is what attracts me to you." She said, more to herself than him. K.C. blushed.

Clare realized what she said and the shade of her face matched K.C.'s.

"Well…_attracted _ me to you." She clarified, "Attracts me to Eli now."

She got up to leave and as she was walking away, K.C. realized he didn't want her to go.

"Clare wait!"

She turned around and raised her eyebrows as a response.

"Aren't you gonna eat lunch?" He said sheepishly, grinning. He didn't know why he was so eager for the company of his ex-girlfriend, and he knew he shouldn't be, but he couldn't help himself.

She smiled and shrugged, sitting back down.

"I guess so. So, how are things?" She said, casually making conversation. K.C. tried to gain back the confidence he usually had when talking to people but he found it increasingly harder to do as Clare's blue eyes bore into his.

"Uh…good, I guess. I mean, well, my mom is back." He announced.

Clare's eyes widened. "Really? That's great K.C.! Why didn't you tell me before?" Clare looked a little hurt that she was just now receiving the news and he felt bad.

"I'm sorry, we weren't talking you know?" He said, his face falling a little bit.

"Yeah." Clare nodded. "I'm glad that's changed." She grinned at him and patted him on the arm. K.C. shivered at her touch.

"Well that's great that everything's working out for you!" She said animatedly.

"Well not everything." K.C. said glumly, remembering the situation that seemed to hardly ever leave his mind.

"Look K.C., I already told Jenna that I'll be there to help her if she needs anything. And the same goes for you." Clare said solemnly, and K.C. knew she meant it.

The bell rang then, and Clare got up to leave.

K.C. watched her walk away…

It was the end of the day, and Clare still hadn't left his mind. He was walking out the entrance to Degrassi when he saw her, with Eli.

He looked upset and she looked as if she was trying to make him happy again, as if he was mad at her and she was seeking forgiveness.

_What could she have possibly done wrong? _K.C. thought to himself. _Honestly, she's perfect. She's forgiven me and Jenna and she's offered to help us with the baby. After all the pain and trouble we caused her. How can she do that? How can one girl be that amazing?_

K.C. shook his head, but it did nothing to clear his thoughts.

Clare rest her hands on Eli's arms and tried to appease him, smiling flirtatiously. He knew Eli would give in to her eventually, and why wouldn't he?

K.C. felt the pang of jealousy that he'd been fighting ever since he'd heard Clare and Eli were together.

He took a deep breath and finally admitted it to himself:

He still had feelings for Clare Edwards.


	8. Chapter 6

"Whatever. Call me when you feel like being mature." Clare retorted while turning on her heel to walk away from Eli.

"C'mon Clare, why did you have to go and tell her what I said? You got her hormones all worked up."

Clare made a face. "Because I wanted to know the truth."

"So you're implying I don't tell the truth."

"No, I just wanted Jenna's perspective."

"So you trust the girl that stole your last boyfriend more than you trust me."

"No Eli, god, I just…" Clare trailed off, shaking her head.

"Look, I'm sorry Jenna and I kind of ganged up on you okay? I just felt bad for her, she was sitting there crying and…I'm sorry." Clare stood there looking down with her arms crossed. Eli felt guilty for making her feel bad.

"It's okay…you were just trying to make everyone happy." He said, giving her a half smile and brushing a lock of hair behind her ear.

Clare looked up at him and grinned. "So does this mean we're still on for coffee at The Dot?"

As a response, Eli leaned in to kiss her.

"I forgot my textbook though; let me go get it and then we can go." Eli murmured, his lips still only inches from hers.

Clare was trying to regain her breath but managed to say. "I'll wait by Morty."

As Eli was walking through the school to retrieve his textbook from his history classroom, he ran into the last person he wanted to see.

"Eli!" She exclaimed when she saw him.

Eli turned to face the annoying pregnant blond girl that his girlfriend was so keen on being friends with. "Yes?" He asked, preparing himself for another round of tears and accusations.

"I'm so sorry for the way I acted at lunch today!" Jenna said, and she looked truly sad. "It's just…you know my emotions aren't exactly stable." She said, running her hands through her hair awkwardly.

"Yeah I know. It's okay I guess." Eli said. Now he understood what Clare meant when she said it was so hard to be mad at Jenna, what with her being so emotional and all.

"No it really isn't. I can be so ridiculous and terrible sometimes." Jenna said, shaking her head.

As true as that was, Eli knew it would be wrong to agree, so he said "Well, I've never been pregnant, so I'm no one to judge. For all we know you're handling pregnancy hormones just fine." He said, smirking a little.

Jenna threw her arms around him and Eli hugged her back in shock, caught off guard.

"Thanks for understanding Eli! And you're funny!" She said, and giggled her annoying little laugh.

Eli just smirked. "Well, uh, I have to go meet Clare." He said.

"Oh right! Clare!" Jenna said, giggling as she spoke. She kept fixing her hair and wouldn't look away from Eli.

Eli smirked one last time and turned to walk back to Clare.

If that wasn't flirting he didn't know what was, but it was going to remain his secret.

After cheer practice, Jenna packed up all of her things and changed into her comfortable sweats; the cheer uniform was getting really tight on her.

_Clare's lucky to have a nice, funny guy like Eli. _She thought to herself.

_And YOU'RE lucky to have a great guy like K.C.! _She chided. She made a face, her thoughts perplexed her. Had she been flirting with Eli?

No, of course not, Clare was her friend and she wouldn't steal her boyfriend AGAIN, she was better than that now. And besides, she had K.C. The father of her child.

But Jenna knew it was her nature to be flirtatious and off-limits meant nothing to her when it came to guys. And Eli's smirk…

_NO. _She stopped herself, and reminded herself that Clare was her friend, she was pregnant, and K.C. was the father. She loved K.C. and would never break up with him.

She sighed a contented sigh of relief, and despite the flirting that may have occurred in the hallway, she knew that she wasn't gonna make a move on Eli. She was proud of herself, overcoming her old habits.

She shook her head, ashamed that the idea had even crossed her mind. Her and Eli, that would be worse than Clare liking K.C.!

Or better yet, K.C. liking Clare.

Jenna knew that would never happen though.


	9. Chapter 7

**A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in a while! Hope this suffices**** And I'm sorry for the really short chapters so far, so this one is gonna be long!**

Eli walked back to the table where he and Clare were sitting, drinks in hand.

He was glad that their stupid fight had blown over.

And although Eli knew that he was right, that Jenna HAD been flirting with him, he figured as long as he didn't reciprocate (which he had NO intention of doing) everything would be fine and he didn't need to tell Clare. After all, she'd probably just get upset with him again.

"One mocha and one black coffee," Eli said, sitting down across from Clare and handing her her drink.

"You would get a black coffee." Clare said, rolling her eyes at how sometimes her boyfriend could so easily fit his emo-boy stereotype.

Eli just smirked. "So, what's the agenda for today?"

Clare shifted awkwardly in her seat and played with her hair a little. "Well…K.C. asked me for help with his biology homework, so I figured I would go over to his house and help him." Clare said quietly, not meeting Eli in the eyes.

She finally had the courage to look at him and his lips were pressed into a hard line.

"Look Eli, we're just friends, nothing more." She explained, and leaned across the table and took Eli's hands in her own.

"You know how I feel about you Eli, you know I would never go back to K.C., not when I have you." She whispered, her lips only inches from his.

Eli leaned back in his chair, not letting her have the satisfaction of kissing him just yet, but he still held her hands.

"Look, even though he and I are kinda friends, I still don't trust him. Call me typical and narrow-minded, but I don't like the idea of my girlfriend hanging out with her ex."

Clare sighed. "C'mon Eli. I promise, we're_ just_ friends. Nothing will ever happen between us. I care about you more than I ever have for him, I wouldn't do anything to lose…" She looked him in the eyes and stroked his cheek with her hand, making him shiver, "this." She finished, her lips inches from his again.

He kissed her then, not able to resist any longer.

As he slid his tongue across Clare's lower lip, he had an idea.

He pulled away from the kiss and smirked. "Okay. I'm coming too."

Clare's eyes widened. "Huh?"

"I got straight A's in bio last year, if K.C. needs help I'd be an excellent tutor. Unless of course, you have a problem with me tagging along?"

Clare rolled her eyes. "Of course not Eli. _He _might though."

"Well then _he's _just going to have to realize that you and I are a package deal."

Eli raised his eyebrows, waiting for Clare to challenge him, but she didn't. Instead, she just smiled.

"You boys are ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. I'll call K.C. and tell him."

(xxx)

K.C. laughed to himself and shook his head. Eli Goldsworthy never failed to entertain him.

But he wouldn't have made a move on Clare even if Eli hadn't been there…would he have?

Yes, he did still have feelings for Clare, but they weren't as great as his feelings for Jenna.

And…Eli was kind of his friend, he'd feel a little bad trying to take Clare away from him.

It wasn't as if Eli was a close friend, like Drew or Dave, but he was still a friend, and K.C. respected the bro code.

Besides, he'd already made the mistake of breaking up with Jenna once, and he wasn't going to do that again, especially for a girl that was totally into her new (kind of intimidating) boyfriend.

The doorbell rang and K.C. went to get it.

"Hey." Clare and Eli said in unison, and K.C. stepped aside to let them in.

"Your apartment is nice." Clare commented as she walked inside. "It's cozier than the group home."

"Yeah definitely." K.C. agreed, looking around his new home gratefully.

"You lived in a group home?" Eli asked; K.C. had forgotten he was there.

"Uh…yeah I did." He scratched his head awkwardly, knowing Eli would want more of an explanation.

But Eli surprised K.C.

He put his hands up like he was surrendering to something and said "It's cool, you don't have to explain. Just glad you've got a nice place now." Eli smiled, a genuine smile, not a smirk, and K.C. couldn't help but return it. This Eli guy was alright.

"So, we can do homework in the living room and there's snacks in the fridge." K.C. announced.

Clare volunteered to go get some snacks together and Eli and K.C. started on the work.

"So what don't you understand?" Eli asked.

"Everything. I used to be alright at science…but this…this is just ridiculous."

"Okay, well, try to use your prior knowledge from previous science classes that you've understand."

"But none of that relates to this!" K.C. argued.

"You'd be surprised." Eli said, and opened up the text book.

Clare brought in some chips and sodas, and the three snacked and worked without much conversation about anything but biology.

K.C. was glad that Eli had insisted on coming, because he was a better tutor than Clare.

Of course he didn't give K.C. sweet encouragement or proud smiles when he understood something like Clare did…Clare would always smile…_STOP IT. _K.C. told himself, but he did know his stuff.

"Dang, thanks guys!" K.C. said, after the three of them had finished not only their science homework, but homework from other classes as well.

"Don't mention it." Eli said, smirking, and Clare just smiled.

"We should do this again, you know, chill more often." K.C suggested, looking not just at Clare but at Eli too. He liked hanging out with Eli, and Eli's presence helped keep the romantic thoughts about Clare to a minimum.

"Sounds good." Clare answered immediately. Eli smirked, but nodded his head.

"Oh and with Jenna too!" K.C. added, since he didn't wanna feel like a third wheel all the time.

Clare nodded in agreement but K.C. saw Eli roll his eyes a little. Huh, he would have to talk to him about that…

"Well, it's almost 9 o'clock, and my mom will want me home." Clare announced, getting up to leave.

"Yeah I guess I should call my mom too then." Eli said.

"Wait, don't you have your own car?" K.C. asked.

"Morty's in the shop." Eli explained. "He's suffering from a bad case of old age."

"Maybe it's time for a new car?" K.C. suggested. Honestly, it's not like a hearse that gave you mechanical trouble was really something to hang on to, but Eli seemed to disagree.

"And junk Morty? Never!" Eli said, chuckling a little.

"Well my mom just text me, she's waiting outside." Clare announced, and gave Eli a quick kiss goodbye. She smiled and waved at K.C. then left.

K.C. wished Clare would've at least hugged him…

"Mom really?" Eli said, rolling his eyes as he talked to his mother on the phone. "No mom, Morty's in the shop…No! Mom that's gross, I'm not even at her house anyway…Thanks mom but I'll pass…Her mother just picked her up! I'm at K.C.'s house, my friend…Yeah okay, and come when you can please."

Eli hung up and put his phone in his back pocket. "Sorry K.C., but my eccentric parents are at a Metallica souvenirs sale in Newmarket of all things, and won't be back for like two hours." He said, rolling his eyes.

K.C. laughed a little. "It's cool. And Metallica? Dang, you're parents sound cool."

"They need to grow _up_." Eli said, annoyed.

"Well you can chill here until your parents get here. Or I guess when my mom gets home she could give you a ride.

Eli nodded. "Thanks."

(xxx)

K.C.'s mom didn't come home.

It was 11 when Eli's mom showed up, and K.C. still hadn't heard from his own mother.

"She should be home by now." K.C. said anxiously.

"Maybe she just got held up somewhere or went out with some friends and forget to tell you." Eli pointed out.

"But she shouldn't do that! This feels too much like before…" K.C. said and he started to pace around.

"Huh?" Eli asked, confused.

"Look, the reason I lived in a group home was because my parents were drug addicts. Well, my dad still is, he's in prison. My mom got out a little while ago, she's reformed her life and everything, and she's been taking care of me without any problems. But _this _is a problem!"

"I'm sorry K.C." Eli said. "Would you like to come over to my house until you hear from your mother? My parents won't mind."

"Yeah sure. Damn it though, where is she?"

"Calm down, I'm sure she just got held up, and by something totally legal and non-drug associated."

K.C. couldn't help but chuckle at Eli's calming yet amusing words.

"I hope so bro."

"So K.C., how do you and Eli know each other?" Eli's mother asked when they got back to Eli's house.

"Uh…we…"

"We met in detention." Eli said, not caring if his parents knew he'd gotten into trouble.

"Oh! You can't stand those bullshit dress codes either K.C.?" Eli's dad asked.

"Uh…no, I was playing football in the hallway." K.C. said, a little surprised that Eli's parents were so chill about him getting detention.

Both his parents just laughed.

"Well K.C., do you need a place to stay for the night?"

It was 11:30 and K.C. still hadn't heard from his mom.

He looked at Eli. "It's cool with me." Eli said, shrugging.

"Uh…sure."

"Well I assume you guys will sleep in the living room down here, we have blankets in that closet." Eli's mother said, pointing behind K.C.

"Sorry about the lack of extra bedding." Bullfrog said, "But in our defense I thought when Eli asked to invite a friend to sleepover he meant little Clarebelle, and she'd just sleep with him in his room."

The words hit him hard, and K.C. felt as if he'd just shitted his stomach out.

"Okay thanks guys, we're gonna go to sleep now!" Eli said hurriedly, and wouldn't look K.C. in the eyes as he passed him to go to the closet.

All K.C. could do was stare dumbfounded as Eli set up blankets and pillows on the two couches in his living room, still not looking at him.

"_She'd just sleep with him in his room."_

"_She'd just sleep with him."_

_Sleep. With. Him._

Clare Edwards, Clarebear, Saint Clare, was _sleeping _with this boy? All Eli had said about her being pure, respecting her vows…all that was a lie?

K.C. finally regained his voice and the words came out of his mouth before he could stop them.

"You fucked my girlfriend?"


	10. Chapter 8

"Excuse me?" Eli asked, staring at K.C.

"Did you have sex with Clare?" He asked again.

Eli shook his head. "One, no I didn't. And two, why did you say Clare was _your _girlfriend?" He asked, his eyes narrowing.

"I said ex girlfriend." K.C. defended, but Eli continued to stare him down.

"You clear as day said MY girlfriend."

"Well I meant ex!" K.C. said, getting exasperated.

"You better have meant ex." Eli muttered. This pissed K.C. off.

"Or you'll what?" He said, crossing his arms.

Eli looked back at him. "Well, for one thing I could send you home. I didn't have to invite you to stay at my house short notice you know." Eli snapped.

K.C.'s face fell. "Look dude I'm sorry, but please make me-…"

"Relax; I wouldn't do that to you." Eli said. "You're welcome." His tone was still sharp and annoyed, but a little calmer than before.

"Thanks. And I'm sorry…I just got pissed because-…" K.C. trailed off.

_Because why? Because you called me out on how I still have feelings for Clare? _

"Because you made it sound like I was into Clare and not Jenna." K.C. said.

_Which is partially true… _K.C. whisked the thought away.

"Well I didn't mean to. I just get a little upset when guys refer to my girlfriend as theirs." Eli said, smirking. K.C. nodded.

He was glad that the fight had pretty much ended, but he still had one more question.

"So then why did your parents say she would sleep with you in your room?"

Eli laughed and rolled his eyes. "Let's just say you're not the only one with abnormal parents."

K.C. laughed too, and both boys got ready to go to sleep.

(xxx)

"Eli…are you okay?" K.C. asked worriedly.

Eli whipped his head up and looked at K.C., completely startled. He'd forgotten he was there.

"Yeah, oh yeah I'm good. I just rolled off the couch." Eli explained hurriedly, but his stressed tone and sweat-soaked hair and face led K.C. to believe differently.

"You sure dude?" K.C. asked. Frankly, Eli looked far from good; he looked like he'd seen a ghost.

"Totally. Must've had a bad dream or something." Eli got back on the couch and buried his face into one of his pillows, signaling that the conversation was over.

They both fell back asleep, but not for long.

The second time K.C. woke up it was to a scream. _He _fell of the couch this time, looking around frantically.

Eli was on the floor again, and this time he was talking (more like screaming) in his sleep.

"Eli, Eli! Wake up!" K.C. yelled, shaking Eli's shoulders.

He jolted awake finally and propped himself up against the couch, gasping for breath.

The startled and pained whimpers that came with each breath really worried K.C.

_What was going on, did Eli have a sleeping problem or something?_

"Eli, what's wrong?" K.C. asked, still stunned at how the boy (who was usually so cocky and confident) was in such a state.

"I had a nightmare." Eli muttered, finally getting his breath back to normal. "I'm sorry for waking you up."

"Don't worry about it." K.C. said. "Must've been a really vivid dream."

Eli nodded slightly and groaned.

"Who's Julia?" K.C. asked; he'd heard him say that name multiple times in his sleep.

Eli's face contorted into a mask of shock, sadness, and anger, though K.C. didn't know who the anger was directed at.

"Huh?" Eli sputtered.

"You said that name in your sleep." K.C. tried to explain, now wishing he hadn't brought it up.

Eli looked as if he were about to burst into tears.

"No one. She's no one. Excuse me." Eli said quietly, and then got up to leave.

All K.C. could do was sit there dumbfounded and try to ignore the sobs he heard coming from down the hall.

(xxx)

When Eli came back K.C. pretended that he hadn't heard him crying; knowing it would embarrass Eli and probably make him more upset.

"You can go back to sleep. I think I'm just gonna stay up…but you can-…"

"Actually, I'm wide awake." K.C. said.

Eli looked down. "I'm sorry for waking you up…maybe you would've been better off staying back at your apartment." He smirked then and laughed.

"Nah, it's cool. I'd rather be with a friend then all alone." K.C. said, and then realized something.

That was the first time he'd ever called Eli his friend.

Eli nodded. "Yeah, me too."

_So were they friends? _Both boys asked themselves. They supposed so.

"So…if we're not gonna sleep, what do you want to do?" Eli asked.

K.C. shrugged. They didn't have very much in common…except for Clare.

No way was K.C. bringing _her_ up.

"We could play videogames." Eli suggested.

_Videogames, of course! _K.C. thought. At least all boys had that in common.

They played call of duty for hours, really getting into it. Both boys weren't half bad, but Eli beat K.C. more times than he lost.

They started yelling and cussing at each other, but in a joking way, their minds in the game.

K.C. hadn't had that much fun in a while, what with all of the drama with Jenna and his mother he hadn't really been able to hang out with friends and just mess around.

Finally morning came, and both boys realized they'd have to get ready for school.

Eli gave K.C. a coke, saying he'd need it to stay awake.

"Can't last very long on just four hours of sleep." Eli explained.

"Do you…have trouble sleeping often?" K.C. asked.

Eli stiffened, and K.C. felt bad for bringing last night up.

"Sorry." He said, but Eli shook his head.

"You don't have to be. I mean I kept you from sleeping, so I guess you deserve an explanation."

He smirked at K.C.

"I have frequent reoccurring nightmares; I've talked to my therapist about it-…" Eli stopped then, realizing he'd just revealed that he saw a therapist.

K.C. wanted to make him feel more comfortable.

"That sucks, but its good you have someone to talk to about them. I used to talk to my social worker and counselor about heavy stuff I had to deal with." K.C. said, hoping Eli would feel more comfortable knowing he wasn't the only one who had people helping him.

Eli grinned. "Yeah…I guess it is a good thing."

K.C. smiled back and waited for Eli's mom to come and drive them to school.

Eli promised to wait with K.C. while he called his mother and tried to find out what was up.

He figured K.C. would need some support, since his mother could really be anywhere doing anything, and K.C. was glad to accept it.

It was crazy and unlikely, but the two boys really were becoming great friends.

**A/N: Aww happy right? Not for long. Hehehe;) And sorry for making you guys wait, hope you enjoyed! R&R!**


	11. Author's Note 2

Guys I am SOO sorry for not posting lately! I swear, I want to write, I really do, but I have a ton of shit that I've had to get done. For instance a research paper on epistemology! Lol bet some of u don't even know what that is, I didn't till I had to write about it! But I swear I'm gonna try my hardest to post the next chapter tonight, and it will be filled with drama and showdowns! I swear the rest of this is gonna be juicy and interesting and full of suspense, I'm gonna make this absence up to you guys! So please don't hate me, I love you, I love your reviews, and I'll try my absolute hardest to post tonight!


	12. Chapter 9

K.C. had never liked parole officers.

His mother sobbed to him over the phone:

"K.C., I swear I'd just gotten a drink with my friends when my parole officer showed up for a surprise check. He jumped to conclusions when he saw me drinking and took me to the police station. He got me mixed up with another woman who had severe alcoholism and wasn't supposed to touch the stuff. But he didn't realize his mistake until late into the night and when I got home you weren't there! But I saw your note that you were at a friend's house so I figured I wouldn't bother you and I'd talk to you in the morning."

"Its okay mom, don't worry. I'm sorry that that happened, that sucks." K.C. said sympathetically. His mother was so worried for him, when she was the one in the sticky situation.

He was angry at the parole officer for judging his mother.

"That's ridiculous." Eli said, shaking his head when K.C. told him. He agreed that the parole officer was stupid. "See, I told you it was nothing." He patted K.C. on the arm and walked to class.

K.C. felt bad since he'd judged his mother as well, just inwardly. But Jenna could always be counted on to push thoughts out of his mind.

"Hey you!" She squeaked in her high pitch, peppy voice, linking her arm through K.C.'s.

"So where were you last night? You didn't return any of my calls."

"I slept over at Eli's." Jenna's eyebrows raised in surprise and K.C. explained the situation.

"Wow…that's great!" Jenna said enthusiastically, and she meant it. She was so glad that K.C. and Eli could get along, because it made it a lot easier for her and Clare to be friends again.

And now that K.C. and Eli were friends, Jenna would have even less trouble keeping her eyes off of Eli. She knew that both he and K.C. respected the bro code, just as she was now trying to respect the girl code with Clare.

"Why don't we all hang out again today?"

K.C. smiled at the thought. "Sounds great."

"Sounds great!" Said Clare when Jenna asked her about it in gym class. She'd had fun on their last double date, and she was pleased that K.C. and Eli were getting along so well. _I mean, sleepovers? _She thought, still a little bewildered. That was more friendship than she'd ever dared hope for.

Jenna beamed. "Awesome, I have so much fun with you guys!"

Clare was glad, she'd realized that hanging out took Jenna's mind of the pregnancy, and Clare was always willing to help.

"Sounds great." Eli said when K.C. brought the idea up during their free period.

"So what do you wanna do?"

"Jenna said something about coffee at the Dot, and then maybe going to one of our houses?"

Eli's smile faded a tad at the mention of Jenna, he still didn't like her or her flirtatious ways, but he tried to cover it up. Apparently not so well.

"Hey, uh Eli, I noticed that whenever I mention Jenna you like…glare almost?" He asked. He'd noticed it a few times before and he decided that it was time to call Eli on it.

"Oh, do I?" Eli asked nonchalantly, not meeting K.C.'s eyes. "Weird, I don't mean to."

K.C. could tell that the conversation was making Eli nervous, so obviously he knew just what K.C. was talking about. Since the matter concerned his girlfriend, K.C. pressed further.

"You sure?" He looked Eli dead in the eyes. Eli sighed and finally gave in.

"Look K.C…." _How was he going to explain to his new friend that his girlfriend was a slut?_ "Well…Jenna's been flirting with me a little bit." He said.

K.C.'s eyes widened. "What?"

"Just a little flirting…she probably doesn't even mean to. It's just her nature." Eli said. This didn't pacify K.C. in the slightest.

"Her _nature? _So you're saying it's my girlfriend's nature to flirt with other guys while she's in a relationship?"

"I didn't say that K.C.-…"

"But you implied it."

Eli sighed. "Look K.C., you asked me why I don't like her and I told you. Because she flirts with me and I have a girlfriend."

K.C. scoffed. "You're full of it you know? Jenna doesn't flirt with you."

Eli raised one eyebrow. "Yeah, okay sure. Giggling and fixing her hair and laughing at everything I say and stopping by my locker all the time totally isn't flirting." Eli said.

"Well excuse her for being friendly!" K.C. snapped.

"Whatever." Eli muttered, he didn't want this to turn into a fight, he knew better now.

But K.C. followed him as he walked away, insistent on telling him off.

"You know, maybe your just jealous because your girlfriend's a little saint who doesn't have any fun!" K.C. said, the words coming out of his mouth before he could stop them.

_Oh shit. _He thought.

Why did he bring Clare into this? Everything he'd said…it was all wrong. He was the jealous one; he was jealous of Eli because he still wanted Clare. So why had he just said that about her? Sure it would throw Eli off his case, but-

Eli's face contorted into a dark rage.

"Keep her out of this." He snarled, walking right up to K.C. and looking him pointedly in the eyes. Eli's eyes were cold and unforgiving and K.C. couldn't help but be a little scared.

"Look Eli, that's not what I meant-…"

"Sure it's not." Eli said, not breaking his gaze.

K.C. sighed. "Look Eli, you were slamming my girlfriend so I got defensive."

"I have reason to slam your girlfriend K.C.! She flirts with me and I think that's wrong. Not only because I have a girlfriend, but because you're my friend! And she shouldn't flirt with her boyfriend's friend." Eli said, his eyes softening a bit.

"Not only do I not like Jenna because of how she could hurt Clare, but because of how she could hurt you." Eli said.

K.C. couldn't think of anything to top that. Eli never ceased to amaze him.

"But…I thought she loved me…" K.C. said. How could Jenna really be flirting with other guys? This was terrible, this was…

Eli put his hand on his shoulder.

"She does K.C. Like I said, the flirting…it's probably just her nature. Nothing will amount from it, trust me. I'm sure she doesn't even mean to…or at least she doesn't mean to do it in a hurtful way. I…I'm sorry, maybe I was too harsh." Eli said.

"No, I was harsh. I shouldn't have insulted Clare, and I'm sorry. You're right, I have no reason to slam her, she's perfect. Absolutely perfect." K.C. whispered. He looked into Eli's eyes, knowing he understood. Anyone that dated Clare would know…how amazing she was, what she could do.

"K.C…. do you still have feelings for her?" Eli asked quietly.

K.C. didn't answer and Eli took his silence as one. He stiffened and turned to walk away but K.C. caught the strap of his backpack.

"But I respect the bro code Eli. I screwed up when I broke up with Clare, but…there's nothing I can do about it now. She's yours and…well yeah." K.C. said.

To his surprise, Eli smiled, a genuine smile, not a smirk.

"Good. Then as long as you overlook those feelings, I suppose I can too." He said.

K.C. smiled too. "Besides I have a girlfriend….who flirts with you." He added the last part under his breath in agitation but Eli still heard him.

"K.C., remember what I said? It's just her nature. Her harmless nature." Eli said.

K.C. nodded. "Yeah, yeah…but you're lucky that you're girlfriend doesn't do that."

Eli nodded and smirked. "I know I'm lucky." Both boys nodded, thinking of Clare.

Eli's eyes narrowed. "Don't get any ideas." He said, practically reading K.C.'s thoughts.

To his surprise, K.C. laughed. Maybe because he knew he could be comfortable around Eli, that Eli- though a little angsty and arrogant at times- was a good a guy, and a good friend. He knew there was no harm in his jokes, just the warning that K.C. had already agreed to respect.

Eli laughed too. "Well, I gotta go to the library before my next class. See you." He said, but as he was turning K.C. asked one more question, one that had been bugging him since they'd first started talking in detention.

"Eli, why are you so nice to me? I mean, I'm your girlfriend's ex, I got a girl pregnant… a lot of people think I'm a douche." K.C. said.

Eli chuckled and smirked again.

"While that may be true…" He started in a joking tone, but then his voice turned serious. "Let's just say…I'm no better. Or at least…I don't think I am." He said quietly.

K.C.'s eyes widened in question but Eli cut him off.

"I don't wanna talk about it K.C., but let's just say I'm not really fit to judge anyone else. And also…it must suck to deal with the issues you have, and I'd say you're doing pretty damn well."

K.C. was caught off-guard by the compliment. "Thanks man." He said sincerely.

Eli smiled. "Don't mention it. You're doing better than I have in the past. Dealing with my issues I mean." Before K.C. could ask any more questions, Eli had disappeared down the hall, leaving the puzzling statement hanging in the air.

Eli's issues…_what were they? _K.C. wondered.

The nightmares…the name…who was Julia?

(xxx)

Jenna arrived to the Dot first, and she sat at a booth waiting for her friends. She was excited for another double date, it was good getting out.

Eli arrived next, and Jenna beckoned for him to come sit.

Eli walked over nervously, remembering what he'd told K.C. earlier. _It's just her harmless nature. _He reminded himself, and sat down across from Jenna.

"So… what's up?" Jenna asked.

Eli started making small-talk, and Jenna tried to listen but… she got lost.

Eli's eyes…the shade of dark green was amazing.

And his hair….his messy, tousled dark hair….she'd always been a sucker for dark hair.

What was she DOING?

She nodded her head a little to what Eli was saying, hoping to clear it in the process, but to no avail. She was getting into the…horny trimester. It had just started a few days ago and she didn't think she would be _this_ horny but…holy shit.

She found herself leaning closer and closer to Eli, her eyes on his lips. His soft, big lips….

"Um, Jenna? What are you-…" Eli started to ask but Jenna silenced him, pressing her lips to his in a heated kiss.

Shocked and appalled, Eli pushed Jenna off of him.

But not before K.C. walked through the door and saw the entire thing.

**A/N: Hehe I'm terrible for leaving it like that aren't I? Thanks for waiting for this chapter, I hope it's to your standards! More will come soon, I promise! **


	13. Chapter 10

K.C. couldn't breathe.

He walked out of The Dot, down the street…he didn't care where he was going; he just had to get away.

How could Eli do this to him? Blaming it all on Jenna, saying it had just been her "harmless nature" when really it was _Eli_ that had done the flirting…

"K.C.! K.C., wait up!" K.C. heard _his _voice behind him and broke into a sprint.

(xxx)

There was a knock on the door and K.C. grudgingly went to answer it. He was in such a bad mood. How could Eli and Jenna-

There he was.

"What the fuck do you want?" K.C. spat in Eli's face. He attempted to slam the door but Eli stuck his foot in it and forced his way into K.C.'s house.

"You have to let me explain K.C. I was wrong today when I said she wouldn't act on it, she did-…"

"You're still blaming her?" K.C. shouted in rage. Eli's eyes widened in surprise.

"K.C., I told you, I wouldn't do that."

"And I was stupid to believe you!"

Eli put his hands on his head in agitation and closed his eyes. "K.C., you believed me this morning when I told you Jenna flirted with me and that I didn't reciprocate her feelings. Why don't you believe me now?"

Eli had a point, but K.C.'s head was too clouded with anger to care. "Because you kissed her!" He yelled.

"She kissed _me_!" Eli yelled back. "Why don't you believe me?"

"Why should I?"

"Oh I dunno, because I'm your friend?"

"You are NOT my friend!" K.C. hollered. "Friends don't kiss their friends girlfriends."

"SHE KISSED ME!"

"Well then you must have flirted with her to get her to do that!"

"I didn't flirt with her! Don't you get it?" Eli said.

K.C. glared and turned away.

"It's not my fault K.C.!" Eli shouted at his back, getting aggravated.

"Yes it is! You already have one of the girls I like, why are you trying to take the other?"

"I'm not for the BILLIONTH time! I love Clare; I don't want Jenna. _She_ flirts with _me_!"

"Why?" K.C. yelled, not really expecting an answer.

"You know why K.C."

He narrowed his eyes at Eli. "Why?"

Eli shook his head and turned away. "Forget it!"

"Tell me!"

"K.C.-…"

"COME ON!"

"Because she's a WHORE!" Eli hollered angrily at K.C. and both boys jumped a little at the sound of Eli's voice.

"What happened to harmless nature?" K.C. asked with a mocking tone.

Eli shook his head, exasperated. "I was wrong. She's a SLUT K.C. I'm sorry but it's true. You made the wrong choice when you left Clare for her."

"So just rub it in my face!" K.C. yelled. He was so sick of the fact that this boy, this stupid arrogant boy had the girl that HE wanted-

Eli shook his head again. "I didn't mean it like that, I'm just sick of you accusing me of flirting with your girlfriend when she's the problem!" He yelled, interrupting K.C.'s train of thought.

"What do you mean you didn't mean it like that? Of course you meant it like that! Your and Clare's relationship is fucking PERFECT! You've never had to deal with the kind of shit I've had to deal with." K.C. hollered so loud the plates on the table shook, he was SO angry.

Eli glared. "Look, you're not the only one whose had tough shit happen to them K.C."

"Oh, what's happened to you then? I bet you never got a girl pregnant! I bet you never made so many mistakes in a relationship that you hated yourself for it! Honestly, you have a great girlfriend, great friends, and you're parents are awesome and always there for you! My parents did drugs." K.C. went on, listing all of the problems he'd had to deal with, all of the crap that had fucked up his life- Eli was making everything worse.

"I know K.C. and I'm sorry. Look, just calm down." Eli said, his voice softening as he held up his hands; he didn't want the fight to get too out of hand.

"Don't tell me to calm down emo boy!" K.C. yelled and Eli looked taken aback.

"You don't know what it's like to have to keep an eye on your girlfriend because at any second she could go flirt with or kiss another guy. You don't know what it's like to never know if your mom's coming home or not. Don't you get it? You don't know how fucked up my life is!"

"K.C. you can't just imply that I don't have any problems." Eli said sternly, his eyes darkening.

"But you don't! Except for what, a few stupid nightmares? I have real problems! My mom was a druggie, I lost Clare to you, I could lose Jenna at any moment, and I lost my own father to prison. You don't know what that's like. You've never lost anybody!" K.C. screamed in his heated rage.

To his astonishment, Eli didn't immediately snap back, instead a spasm of pain shot through his face and he looked like he could barely breathe.

"I've never lost anybody?" He repeated finally, his voice shaking. "Yeah okay, well, you can burn in hell." He whispered; he was losing the ability to speak. He immediately left K.C's apartment without saying another word.

As the door slammed behind Eli, K.C. couldn't help but be dumbfounded. Why hadn't Eli fought back, and why did K.C.'s come back look like it was gonna make him burst into tears?

K.C. shook his head, still irritated. _Whatever, serves him right._ He thought. Eli didn't have any problems, and K.C. was sick of him always acting like he did.

(xxx)

As more time passed and K.C's rage cooled, he realized that maybe he was a little too hard on Eli. After all…maybe Eli really hadn't meant to kiss Jenna.

But why had he left so suddenly? Could it have been that K.C. mentioned his nightmares? K.C. thought that was a bit of an overreaction.

He decided that he'd try to talk to Eli again later, but didn't really for like doing it at the moment. Drew called and invited him to hang out, and K.C. happily agreed. Anything to get his mind off of things.

Drew suggested that they play Call of Duty, and his little brother Adam came to join them.

The three of them had just finished a game when Drew went to go get some chips and sodas from the kitchen, leaving Adam and K.C. alone.

Adam was the first to break the silence. "So, you're Clare's ex-boyfriend?"

K.C. stiffened, he didn't want to think about her and he especially didn't want to think about her current boyfriend.

"Yeah. So?"

Adam just laughed. "Nothing. Eli told me that you guys are kinda friends and I think it's funny that you guys can do that."

"Eli and I are NOT friends." K.C. insisted coldly. Adam looked confused.

"Oh?"

K.C. didn't want to explain the kiss between him and Jenna so he just said. "Yeah, he's just a stupid annoying pansy actually. Like, I've had a lot of issues right? And whenever I would talk about them, Eli would say that he knows how I feel, and he doesn't. I mean, he doesn't have issues."

Adam's gaze hardened a little. "Uh huh…and what makes you think that?"

K.C. shifted awkwardly. "Well…he doesn't! And I tried to tell him that-that he had no clue about any of the problems I've gone through- and he just got all emotional and left." K.C. said, rolling his eyes at the memory.

"What exactly did you say to him K.C.?" Adam asked.

_Does it matter?_ K.C. thought agitatedly. But Adam was serious, so K.C. racked his brain to remember.

"Uh…I said something about how I'd lost touch with my parents because they were in prison and did drugs and stuff…and I told him that he didn't know what it was like to lose anybody."

Adam's eyes widened in horror. "You didn't."

"What does it matter?" K.C. exclaimed. "He hasn't lost anybody!"

"His ex-girlfriend got hit by a car and died K.C."

That brought K.C. up short.

"…huh?" He couldn't believe what he was hearing…

Adam nodded. "Eli's old girlfriend, before Clare…she got hit by a car. He was really close to her, I mean, they lived together and everything. It destroyed him."

K.C. couldn't speak for a moment. This was unbelievable. "Oh my god…" Was all he could manage.

Adam nodded again. "Her name was-.."

"Julia." K.C. finished for him. The name from the nightmares, it all made sense now…

"Uh yeah, how did you know?" Adam asked.

K.C. shook his head. "It doesn't matter." He said quickly, getting up from the couch. "I have to go, tell your brother I'll see him later." And with that K.C. had left the Torres residence and was on his way…again, he didn't know where he was going. He just had to get away from what Adam had told him…he had to get away from the horribly wrong things he'd said to Eli.

He put his head in his hands.

_What have I done? _


	14. Chapter 11

"Clare, you have to listen to me!"

Clare whipped around to face Jenna, and this time even she wasn't softened by Jenna's teary face.

"You know what Jenna? I've already listened to you. And I've given you advice. And you know what? You don't take it. You just hurt the people that try to help you, and I'm sick of it." Clare retorted, and turned on her heel to walk away down the street.

Jenna wailed behind her but Clare ignored it.

She was about to call Eli when she saw Morty come around the corner. Eli saw her and stopped to let her get in.

Before she could say anything Eli started to talk.

"Clare, she kissed me, I pushed her away, I'm sor-…"

Clare held up her hands to shush him. "I know Eli, don't worry. Jenna explained."

Eli's face stiffened. "Please don't tell me you're still gonna be friends with her."

Clare laughed without humor and shook her head. "Nope. Even Saint Clare can't handle that."

She expected Eli to laugh but he didn't; he still looked upset.

"How did things go with K.C.?" She asked warily.

Eli turned away from Clare and started the car again.

"Can we go back to my house?" He asked quietly.

"Sure. Eli-…?"

"I'll tell you when we get home."

(xxx)

Tears were already rolling down Eli's cheeks by the time they pulled into his driveway. He wiped his face with the back of his hand. He was beyond embarrassed; he hated it when Clare saw him cry.

"Eli?" Clare asked worriedly. She turned his face toward her and saw the tears. Her eyes widened in question and sadness. "Eli, what's wrong?"

He hardly ever cried.

Eli's voice was cracking too which made it all the more embarrassing and difficult to talk.

"Can we…can we go inside first?" He asked.

Clare nodded and led him inside, rubbing his back and trying to get him to calm down.

They got up to his room and collapsed onto his bed.

Clare propped herself up on the pillows and held Eli close, his head resting on her chest.

She played with his hair while he calmed down.

"Okay Eli, what happened?" She asked quietly while massaging his forehead. It was still hot from all the tears and emotion.

"K.C. and I…we're not gonna be friends Clare. I'm sorry."

"Why?" She asked; she knew he was upset but she HAD to know what happened.

"I tried to do what you and my therapist recommended…not pick fights, reach out to people, give people I wouldn't normally be friends with a chance…"

Clare nodded. "And you were doing a great job." _Especially with K.C._ she thought.

"But today…when I tried to explain to him that I hadn't kissed Jenna back…I realized that some people I just…I just can't-…"

"Eli… what did he do?" Clare asked; she was getting worried.

"He has a lot of problems right? His mom, his past, Jenna and stuff. I felt bad for him, and I tried to help him because…I can relate. K.C. was actually one of my only friends who I think can seriously relate to going through shit. But…he didn't feel the same. He basically told me to my face that my life is a utopia and that I'm just a baby who doesn't have any REAL problems." Eli said bitterly, sadly.

"Oh Eli, that is not true! Your problems are very real and you handle them far better than K.C .handles any of his problems." She said, brushing the bangs back out of his eyes.

He looked up at her and she smiled at him, leaning down to press her lips to his forehead.

"But…why did that upset you so much?" She asked.

Eli sighed.

"He started talking about how he lost his parents to drugs…" Eli continued, his voice stone cold.

"Yes?" Clare pressed.

"He…he…" Eli wouldn't meet Clare's eyes and he swallowed hard before continuing to speak. "He told me that I didn't know what that's like…that I've never lost anybody."

That did it for Clare.

She pulled Eli's face up to hers and looked in his eyes which were watering again, her own eyes were full of horror.

"Eli, did he really?"

Eli nodded and a tear fell down his cheek. "It's ridiculous that I'm crying about it…I know, but…why did he have to bring up _her._" Eli sobbed, and Clare pulled him close.

"Eli, it was wrong and disgusting what he said, I'm so sorry and it's perfectly okay for you to be upset." Clare assured, rocking him back and forth and rubbing his back softly.

"When he slept over…I had a nightmare. He seemed so understanding at first, but then…today…he used that against me when we were fighting. How he could use that, use _her _against me…that's just fucked up."

Clare nodded and kissed his hair while wiping away his tears.

"Eli…I'm so sorry."

He sniffled and then looked up at her, his face red.

"I'm sorry Clare…you shouldn't have to comfort me, especially when it's about my ex-girlfriend."

"Eli," Clare said firmly, looking into his eyes so he would know she was serious, "you know this doesn't bother me. You can talk to me about everything Eli, I love you."

He smiled. "I love you too Clare." He murmured. "I'm so damn lucky…"

Clare blushed a little and grinned at him timidly. "Thanks."

He leaned down and kissed her neck, making her shiver.

"So…you're okay?" Clare asked.

"I'll talk to my therapist about it probably…but yeah." He said.

Clare smiled. "Good."

He leaned in to kiss her.

While there lips moved together, Eli ran the tip of his tongue over Clare's lip and she opened her mouth to him.

He slid his hands down to her hips and started massaging circles into her hipbones while she bit his lip softly.

They finally pulled away to breathe.

Clare was red in the face and she bit her lip.

"Well you know Eli…" She said, curling up onto his chest as he laid down on his bed.

"You're a MUCH better kisser than K.C."

Eli smirked and chuckled a little. "Glad to hear it." He kissed Clare on the cheek and she sighed happily.

They stayed like that for a few minutes until Eli yawned.

Clare knew he was probably tired from all of the emotion and crying and she tilted her head to look up at him.

"Wanna take a nap?" She asked.

"Will you stay here with me?" He whispered quietly.

Clare nuzzled her head into his neck and felt his arms tighten around her as he played with her softly.

"Definitely."

They fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms.

(xxx)

It was the next day, and K.C. was running all over Degrassi, frantically looking for Eli. He'd called him a million times, tried to go to his house, but to no avail. He HAD to find Eli, he had to apologize….

K.C. whipped around and saw Clare walking toward him. It wasn't Eli, but it was close enough.

"Clare, I need-…" He began, but Clare cut him off, slapping him across the face.

She slapped him with such force that K.C. was sure it would leave a red mark, and it really hurt. K.C. rubbed his cheek, embarrassed that little _Clare _was able to hit him like that.

"Listen to me!" Clare said loudly, and if everyone in the hallway wasn't already looking at them, they sure were now.

"What you said to Eli was disgusting and terrible. I had faith in you K.C., I really did. And he did too! He considered you a good friend for that matter, and THIS is how you treat him?" She lowered her voice then and moved closer to K.C. so only he could hear "How do you think he feels K.C., living with her death every day? And you rubbed it in his face. He already thinks about her constantly, he's in therapy for god sake. And you rubbed it in his FACE." Clare retorted.

K.C. couldn't say anything. He couldn't defend himself, partly because he was so stunned, and partly because he knew she was right.

She shook her head, turned on her heel and stormed away, leaving K.C. with only one thought.

_Now I've lost everyone. _

**A/N: Aww happy Eclare, but unhappy KC and Eli friendship: ( Will they ever be cool again? Who knows….R&R!**


	15. Chapter 12

"Jenna, are you ready to go?"

Jenna heard her brother call from downstairs and she looked to see that all of her bags were by his car. She knew it was time to leave. _I should leave now, before I have second thoughts. It will be less painful…_She thought.

She opened up her e-mail account one last time to look at the letter she'd sent to K.C., Clare, and Eli.

_Guys,_

_I am so sorry for all the trouble I've caused you. I can't even…there are no words to make things better and I know that. My brother's taking me to a facility that helps pregnant girls, they'll help me throughout the rest of my pregnancy and they'll help me deliver. They have counselors there too. I've heard it's a really great place. I need…some time away guys. I need to get counseling, and then maybe I can stop making all of these STUPID decisions. I've made one too many bad decisions and I just…need to change. I'll be in touch in a few weeks maybe, after I get settled._

_Goodbye._

_Jenna_

Tears rolled down her cheeks as she closed her lap top and put it in her case.

She couldn't believe that she'd kissed Eli. Now K.C. hated her, Clare hated her…it was needless to say Eli hated her.

She'd done it again; hurt everyone that was trying to help her.

She had to change….and this was the change she was going to make.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and called downstairs to her brother:

"I'm coming!"

_**END OF PART ONE**_

**A/N: Okay guys, thanks for all of the amazing reviews and I really hope you all enjoyed the first part to this story! The rest will be up soon; but I'm REALLY busy, plus I'd like to work on a few of my other stories. Check out Skeletons in My Closet, I'm gonna work on that one for a while. It's even more suspenseful then this one!;) OK thanks again and see you soon!**


	16. Chapter 13

**A/N: Yes Part 2 is finally here! So since I'm gonna be working on this, here's what you should expect for my other stories:**

**Skeletons in my Closet: TEMPORARY hiatus**

**The Only Exception: whenever I get inspired by Munruke cuteness I'll post a new chapter haha;D**

**I'm Many Things: I'm gonna work on that one as well as this one, like maybe update each every four days, so at least one will be updated every two days.**

**As always, I encourage you to check out my other fics, and while your at it, check out umhiimrawr's stuff too, because she's just about as amazing as a zesty lemon tart.**

**DISCLAIMER: You guys know I don't own Degrassi. If I did, it would be…ahh nevermind you get the point.**

**So without further a do:**

_**PART TWO**_

It was sweetheart week at Degrassi.

And K.C. wanted to kill himself.

His girl friend, or ex now, was at a pregnancy facility.

He had no idea what this meant for the baby now, was Jenna gonna raise it by herself? She cheated on him, so K.C. definitely wasn't too keen on being with her anymore. But should he still try to be part of the baby's life? He didn't know.

All he knew was that Jenna was gone, and he was miserable.

And he hated himself.

Clare and Eli had tried so hard to help him out, to be there for him and for Jenna.

After all they'd done to Clare… she was still there for them.

But this was the last straw. Jenna kissed Eli, and K.C….

He couldn't even think about what he'd done, what he'd said.

Eli was so much nicer to him than he ever would've expected him to be, and look at how he'd repaid him. He'd hit him right where it hurt, he'd brought up Julia.

Sure he didn't know it at the time, but in a way that's what made it so bad. He just assumed Eli's life was perfect.

Actually, K.C. assumed everyone's life was perfect. He never thought of anyone but himself, he never thought of anyone else's problems.

And here was Eli, who clearly had many problems of his own, trying to help him.

How could Eli come off as so bad ass and distant, but be so nice once you actually got to know him?

_Maybe it's like how I come off as nice and fun, but really I'm just a backstabber. _

K.C. thought to himself angrily.

He'd been walking the halls, moping around, when he finally decided to just sit down by the entrance. It was the sweetheart luncheon, and K.C. obviously wasn't going to attend. But at least the halls were empty so he could be sad in peace.

He gave Sav, who was manning the rose-buying table, a bleak smile as he sat down across from him.

"Hey, uh…K.C. do you think that maybe you could…I mean Holly J's at the luncheon and well-…" He gave K.C. a pleading, guilty smile as he trailed off.

"Yeah sure, I can take over." K.C. agreed.

"Thanks dude!" Sav said, as he took off to go be with his girlfriend, and all of the other happy couples at Degrassi.

K.C. would be in there with Jenna, if she hadn't of cheated on him. How could she do that to him, how could she-

K.C. cut off his train of thought because he knew that if he wanted to be a better person, he would have to stop blaming other people for everything. After all, hadn't he liked Clare too? So in a way, he kind of cheated on her too, at least in his mind…

It didn't exactly add up, but K.C. didn't care. He was so upset with himself that he probably would've blamed himself for global warming in that moment.

He sat idly at the table, letting his eyes wander around the halls that were decked out with pink and red hearts, when he heard footsteps.

"Hey, I'd like to buy-…" The voice stopped short and K.C. looked up.

Standing in front of him was Eli.

"Eli!" K.C. exclaimed, jumping up and walking towards him. Eli took a step back.

"I'll come back later." He said shortly, and turned around to walk away.

K.C. grabbed him by the shoulder. "Wait! Don't you wanna get some roses?"

Eli sighed and turned back around. "Yeah sure. Ten pink ones please."

K.C. handed him the roses and Eli took out his wallet to pay but K.C. stopped him.

"I've got it." He said, and he offered Eli a smile.

"Thanks." Eli muttered, but his cold expression didn't change.

He turned away to go but K.C. knew he needed to talk to him. Maybe if he could butter him up a little more first-

"Here, I'll throw in these white ones too! All on me. Just…c'mon Eli, please talk to me."

He said, holding out the roses.

Eli wouldn't take them.

"C'mon Eli, just take them. Clare will like them." K.C. said, grinning. He thought maybe Eli would smile at the mention of Clare but he didn't.

"I always gave Julia white roses on holidays." Eli said hollowly.

K.C. immediately dropped the roses and buried his face in his hands. "I'm so sorry." The apology was for more than just the white roses, and he hoped Eli knew that.

"You know, in those stupid nightmares I keep having, sometimes I'm in a field of them. And I see her in the distance, but just as I'm about to call her name, she falls over, she drowns in them. And then I'm running, screaming, crying, swimming all throughout the roses to look for her, but I keep getting lost.

And then the field ends and I see her body in the middle of a busy street next to the roses…and then they all turn black."

Eli shook as he told his disturbing story, but he managed to stay dry eyed and keep most signs of emotion off his face.

"That's awful." K.C. said.

Eli sneered at looked him in the eyes. "Really? I thought they were just 'stupid nightmares'." He made air quotes with his fingers and mimicked K.C.

"Eli, I'm so sorry, I didn't know, just-…"

Eli put money down on the table and turned to walk away.

"Eli, no! You don't have to pay for these, I've got it, I-…"

"No. I don't want anything from you."

-x-x-x-

"Oh Eli, thank you!" Clare gushed as Eli presented her with the roses after school.

"Anything for you." He murmured suavely, and leaned into kiss her.

Clare's heart leapt with joy as she wrapped her arms around Eli's neck and leaned into the kiss, resting her bouquet of flowers on his back.

Eli had been acting so sweet lately, and Clare couldn't get enough of it. She loved that Eli was all sappy on Valentines Day, she thought it was adorable how on the inside he was a hopeless romantic.

The past week had been rough for her, she'd been shocked that Jenna had left, gone away to a facility. She didn't know quite how she felt about it.

Sure, she didn't like Jenna anymore, but….the fact that she was gone was just a little strange.

She wondered how K.C. was taking it, and then she realized she didn't care.

_Serves him right_. She thought bitterly.

She let herself fall back into the moment as Eli's tongue entered her mouth and tangled with hers.

"You know…today would be a great day for a picnic. We could go to our hideout…" Eli whispered in her ear before running his tongue over her cartilage, including the piercing she had that was identical to his.

"And what exactly will we do on this picnic?"

Eli let his hands glide down Clare's body until he was massaging her lower back, his fingers dipping down onto the back of her skirt.

"Well, I don't know…"

Clare giggled and Eli wrapped his arm around her shoulder, leading her off to Morty.

K.C watched all of this happen from the front steps of Degrassi, and he stared at Eli's hearse until it had left the parking lot entirely.

_That could've been me. _He thought. That could've still been him with Clare, if he hadn't left her Jenna.

But Eli was a much better man, and he deserved Clare, K.C. knew that.

A tear slid down his cheek and he wiped it away, shocked and embarrassed at the same time.

He had pushed everyone away, thanks to his hotheaded attitude.

He couldn't live like this anymore.

He was going to change his ways, and make Clare and Eli forgive him. He was ready to do whatever it may take to turn his life around.

He stood up, determined, and began to walk home.

The only question that plagued his mind now was: how?


	17. Chapter 14

K.C. stumbled along the path that cut around the side of Degrassi.

He just wandered mindlessly, not really thinking or caring about anything that went on around him.

He was numb from all the drama with Jenna, Eli, and Clare; and he just needed a break.

A break to K.C. usually meant shooting some hoops, taking a nap, or playing video games.

But to some of his fellow students a break meant something very different.

"Hey babe, why the long face?" He heard a girl's voice slur from behind him.

He turned around to see Bianca DeSoussa leaning up against the brick wall, holding a beer.

K.C. wasn't in the mood to deal with her so he just shook his head and kept on walking.

"What's the matter baby daddy?" She called, stumbling towards him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "Can I do anything to help?"

"No." He said pointedly. "You're drunk Bianca." He tried to nudge her away but she held her grip on him, and he couldn't tell if it was because she wanted him to stay or because she was trying to keep herself from falling over.

"Just leave me alone." He said again, and tried to lean Bianca's incapacitated body back up against the wall.

"Woah man, chill out! Bee and I are just looking for a good time."

K.C. turned to see Owen walking towards him, lit joint in hand.

"Yeah well find it somewhere else okay?"

"We were gonna go to the ravine. You wanna come?"

"No thanks." K.C. said adamantly, he'd heard rumors about that place.

"Aw, what's the big boy afraid of?" Bianca teased.

"I'm not afraid; I just don't wanna sit around and get high like some loser." K.C. huffed.

"Oh I get it; you'd rather sit around and wallow in self pity like some loser."

Bianca and Owen laughed and K.C.'s face burned. He was about to shout a retort when Owen held up his hands in defense.

"We're kidding bro. But seriously, you had fun with this that time when we blew your booze. Why should this be any different?"

K.C. thought about that for a second. He was feeling pretty shitty; he really did wanna feel better…

"Okay fine. I'll go drink with you guys, but I'm not doing drugs."

Bianca smirked and draped her arm around K.C., leading him back to Owen's car.

-x-x-x-

"C'mon K.C., just try it!" Bianca coaxed, holding the weed in front of his face.

"Bee, I…" He couldn't finish his sentence, be broke into a fit of gags.

"Ah fuck." He cursed, rubbing his head. The world was spinning. How much did he drink again…?

"It'll help with the hangover man." Some guy commented from the other side of the fire, but everything was too blurry for K.C. to make out his face.

"Ugh….fine…" K.C. drawled, and he took the joint from Bianca and put it to his lips.

He broke away about 15 seconds later, coughing hysterically. All of the experienced smokers around the fire just laughed.

"Shut up." K.C. grumbled, and he tried for another drag.

He broke away coughing again, and handed it back to Bianca in a huff.

"I told you…drugs aren't my thing."

"Whatever babe. Ay, I'm gonna go see if Owen's in that van over there…don't you go anywhere!" She stuttered drunkenly as she tried to get up.

Once she finally succeeded at steadying herself she gave K.C. a lopsided smile and tried to tap him on the nose, but missed and almost poked him in the eye.

"What's wrong with you?"

K.C. meant to sound angry but he ended up laughing instead. How could he be mad when Bianca had helped him have such a good time?

But as if on cue his stomach churned again and he clutched it, groaning.

"Damn it, why can't I smoke?" He asked no one in particular, and his question was only met by mumbling and giggles.

"Yo, if weed doesn't do it for you, I've got something that might."

"Huh?" K.C. asked, turning to face a guy with greasy black that looked like he was in his twenties.

"Yeah, get a whiff of this."

He pulled a bag of powder out from his jacket pocket and waved it in front of K.C.'s face.

"What is that?" K.C. asked incredulously, mesmerized by the dizzying motion of the bag swaying back and forth.

"Heroin."

"Heroin?" K.C. asked. He'd heard of that drug before hadn't he…?

"What does it do? Will it make my stomach stop hurting?" He stuttered, reaching for the bag.

The man handed him a rolled piece of paper and helped him open the bag.

"Sniff it and find out."

K.C. watched as the man sprinkled some of the powder onto one of the stones surrounding them. K.C. bent down and inhaled…

"Woaahh!"

-x-x-x-

"Kid, get up."

K.C. grumbled and turned on his other side.

"Now!" The voice demanded, pulling on K.C.'s shoulder.

"Why? It's a Saturday Mom…"

"I'm not your mother, I'm a police officer."

That brought K.C. up short.

"A…huh?"

He sat up then and looked around.

He was lying on the ground, right next to the campfire at the Ravine. Except Bianca, Owen, and the greasy haired man had all run off.

There was a cracked bottle of vodka in one of K.C.'s hands, and the rolled up piece of paper in the other.

"What…where'd everyone else go?"

"They were awake enough to get away. But we'll hunt them down eventually, now that we've finally found this place."

"And…what about me?" K.C. asked. He was afraid of the answer.

"Well son, first I need you to take off your jacket."

"Huh, I'm not wearing-…"

K.C. looked down at himself to see that he in fact was wearing a jacket. But it wasn't his; it was the one the greasy haired man had been wearing.

"But this isn't mine!"

"Sure it's not. Hand it over kid."

K.C. did as he was told, and stared in horror as the police officer removed several baggies from the jacket pockets, along with a piece of paper.

The officer mumbled something into a microphone and then another police officer appeared and before K.C. could protest, he was being handcuffed.

"What? No, those aren't mine, I swear."

"Do you realize that you're in possession of three illegal, schedule one drugs? And that this piece of paper proves you're in association with some very well-known wanted drug dealers?"

"But I told you it's not mine!"

"Do you know how serious these offenses are? Of course you're denying this, Abe Lincoln would deny this."

"But-…"

K.C. felt the handcuffs tighten around his wrists and the other police officer spoke from behind him.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in court. You're under arrest."

**A/N: Just a little idea, do you like me writing this in third person or do you want me to switch to first? Include in your reviews please!**


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